"Amazon!" my mom hollered from the other room.
Crap, I thought, did I forget a sister at the park again? Well if I did shame on mom for not noticing until now, we haven't been to the park since last week!
"Ooh you're in trouble!" jeered my sister, Atari. Maybe I should have left her at the park.
"Amazon, come talk to these nice customers," my mom called again.
I followed her voice to the customer waiting area, a small awkward room in the front of the building. Three men stood hopelessly out of place in the small room. I had seen enough spy movies to know that the big dude in the middle was their leader.
"How can I help you gentlemen today?" I asked.
"We would like to offer you a small job. 100,000 dollars for use of your mechanical talents for one week," answered the giant in the middle
"Would you care to follow me and discuss details, your friends can stay here" I said sensing something was up.
"Enough of your tricks, demi scum" said the 'friend' to the right, but he was silenced by a gesture from his superior. The leader was tall and imposing with dark glasses and shadowy features. A shiver went down my spine.
"We can offer you 200,000 dollars for a week of work and no questions asked" he said. Upping the pay without me even trying, this guy really did need me.
"I'm afraid I will have to say no. I like to know details. Thank you for the offer." I said after a moment of thought. There was something that told me I didn't want to get pulled into whatever this man had going on. At that all three men turned and left, the ringing bell above the door sounding hollow and dead.
A sigh of relief escaped me. I slid down the wall and sat on the floor, knees tucked to my chest like a scared child. I looked at the floor where the men had stood, there was a white business card lying there. I crawled over to it. The address was familiar, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I put the card in my pocket and decided to look at it later.
I had just gotten back to work when the bell above the door started ringing again. Yes, hello, grand central station, I thought to myself. I walked into the front room to see if it was those men back to kidnap me or something, thankfully it was only Mr. Prackson. Mr. P was an old friend of my dad's and also the godfather of my youngest sister, Minerva. His cheerful hello brought all my sisters and my mother out from around the building to greet him. Atari and Nali came running down the stairs like a herd of elephants with little Mini in tow, inching down the stairs with extreme caution, unlike her older sisters. I swooped her up in my arms and carried her over to her godfather. Her mouse ears immediately relaxed and she squirmed down to hug Mr. P running straight for his legs and attaching herself like a barnacle. He was surrounded by women vying for his attention, my mother eventually won out and ushered him into the kitchen to recount the events of the day. At the end of his visit Mr. P. pulled me aside and spoke to me in a hushed tone.
"Zon, I know how hard a decision that was to make today and you handled it very well. Remember that if you ever need anything I will always help. If you ever need money I can lend you so~"
"Oh no, no we couldn't ask that of you. Father never would have allowed that. I appreciate the offer but I couldn't ask that of you," I interrupted. It was true, my father never would have allowed that, he had always been a proud man, too proud to ask for help even if it was direly needed.
"Well, let me know if you change your mind, goodbye children, goodbye Mrs. Vega" he said with no hint of the hushed and serious tone he had used when he had pulled me aside. He shot me a reassuring glance and left. I knew what I had to do.
I walked down the street my red threadbare scarf making snapping noises in the wind. I looked down at the stark white card with the gold dragon embossed on the back. I must not have been looking were I was going because the next minute I lay in a heap with a complete stranger and his now destroyed bike.
"Sorry" I said even though it most certainly wasn't, his bike was totally trashed. I stood up and dusted myself off. I offered a hand to pull him up. Whoa! He was gorgeous. Of course Zon, you always have to injure the cute ones. You can't accidentally kill him until after your first date!
"Oh its ok, it was old anyway. Sorry I ran into you, I wasn't looking were I was going" he apologized. I couldn't stop staring, he probably thought that I had hit my head when I fell. I blinked and helped him pick up his bike. His name was Lukas I found out.
"Hey if you want I could fix your bike. It's kind of my thing" I said, showing him the side of my satchel. VEGA MECHANICS it read.
"Really? That would be great!" he answered. We walked back to the shop, talking the whole way. All of a sudden he stopped.
"Don't freak out but there is something behind you, hold still" he said seriously. I whipped around, expecting the men from this morning, but there was nothing there. Then I realized what he was mistaking for a stalker. My tail. Well it was a good run, I thought, most of them run away in disgust at the first sight of me, a Demianimӕ. Demianimӕ; the politically correct term for half animal and half human, also the synonym for low class or street beggar.
"Wait is that attached to you? Is that a tail?" he asked incredulously. Sigh
"Yeah, and the ears to go with it." I answered quietly, I took off my hat.
Nothing. He didn't say anything. I looked up to see if he was still there. He was just staring at me, maybe he had hit his head too. No screaming, no backing away. Silence. It was worse than any reaction I had ever gotten before.
"Cool." He finally said, and he started walking again.
WHAT? How can he completely accept that I am half fox?! After all that deafening silence all he can say is 'cool'?
"So you don't think its weird that I have a tail and ears? Where did you say you were from again?" was all I said.
"I just moved here from the city across the water. They don't have people like you over there." He answered. People huh? Well normally people just call me a thing. It was a start. I ran to catch up with him.
I fixed his bike. He told me to drop it off at his apartment building after I was done. It was closer to the upper class districts then I usually liked to go but ah the things we do for love. The door clicked unlocked as soon as reached the top stair, I looked up to see him standing on one of the balconies grinning down at me and despite myself I grinned right back. I saw him a lot after that, apparently he was prone to breaking things. I got so caught up in it all that I almost forgot where I had been going that first day. I only remembered when I found the embossed business card with the address in shimmering letters lying on my work bench. I set out almost immediately to the address on the card I hoped the job offer was still on the table. Soon enough I showed up at a tall office building with gargoyles and fancy water spouts clinging to the sides. I craned my neck back as far as it would go and was amazed at how the building disappeared into the omnipresent clouds. I braced myself, I felt like Audrey Hepburn in the opening scene of Breakfast at Tiffany's. I walked into the lobby and a gap of surprise escaped me. Damn!
